Ecological Forest Management Handbook

Links together the basic concepts in ecological forest management with practical applications from national to global scales

Covers all three main world forest types boreal, temperate and tropical forests

Highlights the differences between the traditional approach, which merely consists in computing the amount of stemwood that can be harvested per unit of time without compromising future harvests, and the ecological approach, which emulates natural processes, and plans for ecosystem services

Focuses on the use of forest models in the context of the prediction of ecological attributes, such as successional pathways, nutrient and carbon cycles, and the impact of climate change

About this book

Forests are valued not only for their economic potential, but also for the biodiversity they contain, the ecological services they provide, and the recreational, cultural, and spiritual opportunities they provide. The Ecological Forest Management Handbook provides a comprehensive summary of interrelated topics in the field, including management concepts, forest models, and ecological indicators.

Featuring contributions from experts on the three main forest types – boreal, temperate, and tropical – Ecological Forest Management Handbook presents in-depth coverage of important issues in ecological forest management and includes case studies addressing ecological and socioeconomic issues. It illustrates how ecological forest management is a complex process that requires broad ecological knowledge while giving readers a deeper understanding of basic principles and applications.

"Any student of forest science will appreciate the scope of topics and detailed analysis presented here. As editor, and author, Dr. Larocque has brought together experts representing many parts of the world along with a diversity of knowledge, perspectives and experience. The integration of basic concepts with the tools and techniques of modelling is strengthened – and grounded – by the thoughtful discussion of indicators and their role in maintaining forest health and productivity. Effective ecological forest management requires practitioners who can integrate all these domains; this book can help."– Nancy Luckai, Lakehead University, Ontario, Canada

"This is a comprehensive assessment of ecological forest management. The book presents a range of perspectives on the topic from a variety of respected and internationally-recognized authors. The range of topics covered, which includes carbon, wildlife, climate change, and modeling, is impressive and relevant to a wide audience. A great book for practitioners, researchers, and students interested in the topic. Highest compliments to the authors for their accomplishment."– Aaron Weiskittel, University of Maine, Orono, USA

"Forest ecosystems are among the most important ecosystems of the globe because they are widely distributed on the land surface on almost all latitudes. They have lately attracted particular attention because they are important participants in the global carbon cycle and play a major role in our effort to abate global warming. Furthermore, forest ecosystems offer indispensable ecosystem services to humans, which we need to understand and fully appreciate. Ecological Forest Management Handbook gives a comprehensive overview of the management tools we have in our hands to perform an up-to-date ecological-socio-economic management of forest ecosystems. It gives an excellent survey of the ecosystems concepts, the ecosystem services, the ecological management models, the ecological indicators, and how we use these tools in the integrated holistic management of forest ecosystems. These topics are presented with very comprehensive details, which makes the volume an indispensable management handbook. The Ecological Forest Management Handbook is therefore compulsory reading for all interested in forestry, systems ecology, the global carbon cycle, and the abatement of the greenhouse effect."– Sven Erik Jørgensen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

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Biography

Dr. Guy R. Larocque is a research scientist for the Canadian Forest Service, a sector of Natural Resources Canada, at the Laurentian Forestry Centre, Québec City, Québec, Canada. He is also an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Natural Resources Management at Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, and the Forest Research Institute at the University of Québec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Québec, Canada. He is a member of the editorial advisory board of Ecological Modelling and the International Journal of Forestry Research, and is also associate editor of Ecoscience. He has published papers on productivity and succession, carbon cycle, uncertainty analysis, and the development of empirical, succession (gap), and process-based models for forest ecosystems.